By Brandt Mannchen

The Reverend Peter Conaty died recently.  Peter was an avid birder, friend of Nature, and was instrumental in the protection of the "Nash Prairie".  Peter convinced Episcopal officials and others of the rightness of selling "Nash Prairie" to The Nature Conservancy.  This remnant coastal tallgrass prairie was saved for all people for posterity and stands as testimony to who Peter was and is part of his enduring legacy.  Peter also loved the Columbia Bottomlands forest.  I remember first meeting him when Mike Lange and I were out for a visit to a newly acquired tract.  Peter's enthusiasm for the "Works of God" found in Nature was obvious and contagious.  Peter was not only a "Man of God", but had a wicked sense of humor and a love for life that encompassed all people and "God's Creation".  Everyone who met Peter was blessed by his wisdom, soulfulness, and grace.

A Memorial Service will be held for Peter at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 201 East Clay Street, West Columbia, Texas on Sunday, September 17, 2017, at 2 pm.  After the service Peter's ashes will be committed to the Nash Prairie Preserve (County Road 25/County Road 255 Intersection, north of East Columbia).  The Memorial Service is casual and you should dress in clothes that will allow you to walk Nash Prairie in peaceful contemplation of Peter's Life.

Instead of flowers or plants, the family requests that donations to Peter's memory be made to either St. Mary's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 786, West Columbia, Texas 77486 or The Nature Conservancy of Texas, for the Nash Prairie, 404 Buena Vista Lane, West Columbia Texas.